TEHRAN, Jan. 19 (MNA) – At least 15 Armenian military servicemen were killed and three others in serious condition after a fire broke out in the barracks of a military unit, the country's defense ministry said Thursday.

"According to preliminary information, 15 servicemen were killed as a result of a fire that broke out in the barracks of an engineer and sniper company of a military unit ... and the condition of three servicemen is assessed as serious," the ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, the fire broke out at around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday (9:30 p.m. GMT Wednesday) in the village of Azat in Armenia's eastern Gegharkunik region, Daily Sabah Reported.

It said the cause of the fire was not yet established.

Last August, more than a dozen people were killed in an explosion and subsequent fire at a busy market in Armenia's capital Yerevan.

MNA/PR